Ears Wide Open: The Revies

Byron Gonzalez on October 5th, 2020

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From west of the 405 and south of the 10 comes the hard-rocking Mexican-American quartet the Revies. Originally from the border town of Brownsville, Texas, this four-piece band comes carrying a sound ready to blast open any door or wall that isn’t soundproofed and hit any victim with the urge to headbang.

On the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, they released their most recent single, “Los Invisibles,” a song that unapologetically carries a message of solidarity, resistance, justice and equality. Singer-guitarist Etienne Rosas shouts passionately: “Los Invisibles, seguimos aquí (translation: The invisible, we’re still here) / built your city right over our heads / hoisted the flag, put a gun to my head.”

The band says they wrote the song, which was produced by Sejo Navajas at Santa Monica’s 4th Street Recording, as a protest to all the inequality and injustice happening around the country and to show support and stand in solidarity with their Black neighbors, friends and loved ones.

“The lyrics are about the identity suppression that subcultures like Latino-Americans face in this country and the pressure they face to adapt to a monotone mold of American identity, to shed what makes it unique, lest they be considered un-American,” the band explains. “As a Mexican-American band, the product of the meeting of two rich cultures, we wanted the music itself to be a testament to the beauty of diversity. While the verses are very blues-based, Jack White-style riffs, the interludes and intros use indigenous rhythms that echo the beats of ‘danzantes aztecas’ (Aztec dances), in the same vein as Mexican rock pioneered by Caifanes.”

Formed over 10 years ago, beginning with just two members, Etienne and his brother Carlos Rosas would travel back and forth from Brownsville to Monterrey, Mexico. And it wasn’t until they noticed the Mexican city’s robust music scene that they decided to venture into becoming part of it. Five years ago they decided to take a leap of faith and move to Los Angeles, for its similar strong music scene. They’ve released four albums, with the latest “Heartwoken” coming in 2018.

Marcelo Quiñones directed the video for “Los Invisibles.”

||| Watch: The video for “Los Invisibles”